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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

ASSESSING WATER QUALITY

Volunteers needed for water testing on Vermilion

Marshall Helmberger
Posted 4/1/20

REGIONAL— Lake Vermilion needs you, or at least your help in monitoring lake water quality. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is looking for volunteers to serve as part of their Citizen …

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ASSESSING WATER QUALITY

Volunteers needed for water testing on Vermilion

Posted

REGIONAL— Lake Vermilion needs you, or at least your help in monitoring lake water quality.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is looking for volunteers to serve as part of their Citizen Lake Monitoring Program, and they need volunteers specifically on Lake Vermilion.
Volunteers use what’s known as a Secchi disk to determine the clarity of lake water. From a boat or canoe, volunteers lower the black and white disk into the water to record water clarity. That reading can tell scientists a lot about a lake’s water quality. It provides a measure of the amount of suspended material in the water, including algae.
Secchi disk readings, when done consistently over a long period of time, provide a valuable means of detecting trends in water quality. Generally, the sooner water quality problems are detected, the easier and less expensive it is to restore the lake to its previous state.
Volunteers typically take Secchi disk readings during daylight hours when the weather is calm. For consistency, taking readings from generally the same location is helpful. Taking readings at the same time of year during the open water season also helps to make any data gathered more useful in detecting long-term trends in water quality.
Volunteers to the program will be provided with instructions on how to take a Secchi disk reading.
Anyone interested in taking part as a lake monitoring volunteer should contact Wayne Suoja at 218-753-2162 or the MPCA a 651-757-2874. You can find out more at www.pca.state.mn.us/cmp.